This invention relates, generally, to nuclear reactors and, more particularly, to latch devices for mechanisms for driving the control rods for a nuclear reactor.
In a control rod drive mechanism of a type in which the mechanism housing is subjected to the relatively high pressure inside the reactor vessel there is a remote possibility that a failure of the mechanism housing which would release the pressure would cause the control rod to be ejected from the reactor vessel at a relatively high speed by the resulting pressure difference on the control rod drive shaft. The consequences of such an ejection could be extremely severe.
An object of this invention is to eliminate the possibility of control rod ejection from a nuclear reactor vessel.
Another object of the invention is to provide a latch device which operates at a high rate of speed to restrain the control rod drive shaft and the control rod from ejecting from the reactor core, thereby preventing a nuclear excursion.